Nokia profit grows but warns of bumpy ride ahead

Unlike its main rivals, Nokia, the world's biggest cell phone maker, has announced another healthy profit but warned that the industry will continue to suffer setbacks that will shave the company's profits. In line with market expectations, Nokia said on Thursday its mobile phone sales were up 12 percent in the second quarter, helping to push up its net profit by 46 percent to 862 million euros ( $862 million), compared with 589 million euros in the same period last year. Net sales for the three-month period ending June 30 fell 6 percent to 6.9 billion euros ( $6.9 billion) from 7.3 billion euros in the same period in 2001, the company said, partly blaming the decline on weakness in its mobile network equipment division. Earlier this week, Nokia's American rival Motorola Inc. reported a record net loss of $2.3 billion in the second quarter, and its Swedish competitor, LM Ericsson, also was expected to announce heavy losses on Friday.